Sunshine car sticker from the later years (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
Following its rebranding in 1986, Sunshine Radio became the biggest station in Dublin, a position that it held until its closedown at the end of 1988. Renamed Sunshine 101, the changes ushered in by US radio consultant Bill Cunningham included the end of many specialist shows and a shift from a community feel to a successful commercial operation.
This recording is of a live overnight show from spring 1987 hosted by Phil Hilton. There are few adverts as would be expected for the time of night but a promo for the BIg Kahuna competition is aired. The Big Kahuna allowed someone to become a DJ for the day and launched a few radio careers. News at 0206 is read by Joyce Jackson – one of the aspects of the rebranding was to move news bulletins away from the top of the hour slot.
The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 100.5 FM on Tuesday 28th April 1987 between 0131-0217. Audio is generally good but there is some wobble at the start due to cassette degradation.
WABC sticker from the late 1980s (courtesy DX Archive)
Today we begin a new series of the history of the Donegal pirate station WABC with the assistance of our friend and long-time watcher of the Irish radio scene, Ian Biggar. WABC was a successful station that was on air over three separate periods before and after the introduction of legislation that aimed to silence pirate radio in the Republic of Ireland. WABC first broadcast from September 1987 until the end of December 1988, closing down along with the vast majority of other stations. It returned to the airwaves in June 1989 and continued until April 1991. A final spell of broadcasting occurred for a few months in 2001. The station operator was Paul Barnett (RIP), known on air as Paul Burbank or Paul Bentley, who had a background in land-based pirates in the UK. Paul moved with his Irish-born wife Krissi to Coleraine and set up WABC and both were heard regularly on the station. Following the demise of WABC, Paul took over the ownership of another long-running Donegal pirate, Radio North, which continues to broadcast to this day.
WABC founder Paul Barnett pictured in 1990 (courtesy Ian Biggar)
The Anoraks UK Weekly Report of 6th September 1987 reported that WABC had been heard testing on 106 FM and that AM was due to follow. The station was based at Inishowen Head and was beaming its signal into Northern Ireland. WABC began regular broadcasts on 16th September on 106 FM only. The Weekly Report of 1st November referred to ‘WABC – the Hot 107’ following a frequency change and noted that the station was being received well in Blackpool despite the distance, due to a high location for the transmitter. A PO box in Coleraine in Co. Derry was given as the contact address.
The Weekly Report of 8th November again noted WABC and commented that they ‘must certainly have appealed to young people with their fast disco/Top 40 format and dozens of jingles (all old favourites chopped up, but nice, nevertheless, to hear again). Advertisers were urged to contact the station without delay, and we feel sure that they will be doing just this. It would be interesting to know how far the station is penetrating into Ireland, with a listenable (marketable) signal’. On 6th December, Anoraks UK noted that WABC was also audible in Blackpool on 1242 kHz once Radio Merseywaves was off the air. The 20th December 1987 edition of Weekly Report noted that the AM transmitter had an output of 500w but that the aerial was inefficient, while the 107 FM transmitter was running about 350w from a site 4 miles east of Moville. It also noted a new channel of 98 FM in use with just 50w but plans to increase the signal to 1kW. Paul Barnett was quoted as saying that selling ads was not easy due to fierce competition but that a sizeable audience had been built up after just a few months on air. At this time, WABC was operating from 0700-0100 every day with an ‘all hits – no country’ policy aimed at the 15-35 age group.
Our first recording of WABC was made on high ground in East Ayrshire in Scotland and due to the distance from the TX site, includes some fading. The station had recently come on air and was broadcasting from a mobile home near Malin Head. Some adverts are heard for businesses in Derry and Antrim and DJ Dougie Dee plays a hangman competition on air with plenty of phone entries. The tape was made from 1852-1940 from 107 FM on 29th October 1987 and is courtesy of DX Archive.
Cara 95 was a temporary name given to the Dublin love songs station Heartbeat FM (1986-1988). Rebranded as Cara in 1987, the change was shortlived as listeners prefered the original title. The diet of love songs proved popular even in the crowded Dublin radio market and Heartbeat had built up a loyal following by its closure at the end of 1988. It returned as a pirate in the 1990s, subsequently broadcast under a temporary licence and continues today online.
This recording of Cara 95 features the evening drivetime show presented by Eamonn Kelly, formerly heard on Cork station ERI and Dublin station Q102. There are adverts for local businesses but not a huge amount for the time of day, perhaps reflecting waning popularity due to the name change. The show includes traffic updates, a holiday magazine slot and a mystery movie competition. News is read by Maurice Nevin (RIP). Of note is the reference to ‘digital stereo on CD’, reflecting the growing popularity of the compact disk at the time.
The tape is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection and was made from 95.5 FM on Thursday 1st October 1987 from 1620-1751.
Cara 95 was a temporary name change to the Dublin love songs station Heartbeat FM (1986-1988). Heartbeat launched in November 1986 and quickly made a mark in the Dublin market with its popular musical diet. The station was rebranded as Cara 95 in 1987 but soon reverted to Heartbeat because listeners preferred the original name. Heartbeat closed at the end of 1988 but returned in the 1990s as a pirate and eventually as a temporary licensed station in the 2000s. It is now an online station.
This recording of the short-lived Cara 95 features part of the Friday evening drivetime show presented by Eamonn Kelly, who had previously been heard on other pirates in Dublin and Cork. The laid-back music is interspersed with jingles and idents for ‘Cara 95 – the heartbeat of Dublin City’, a nod to the original name. There is also a paperback writers’ slot and a cinema review, along with a competition to win tickets to see 95 movies. Adverts are for local businesses around the city and include the Sunday World newspaper, a frequent advertiser on the pirates. News on the hour is read by the late Maurice Nevin.
The recording was made from 95.5 FM on Friday 25th September 1987 from 1759-1931 and is from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
1988 KTOK studio shot with owner Russ Padmore in the blue shirt (courtesy Andy Carter).
KTOK was a successful commercial station broadcasting from Donegal Town between summer 1987 and the end of 1988. This recording features airchecks of various programmes between Christmas 1987 and February 1988. First up is Dave James, formerly of offshore station Radio Caroline, recorded between 1400 and 1800 on 27th December 1987. Frequencies mentioned are 103 and 96 FM and 1566 kHz AM. There are plenty of requests, promos for Christmas holiday events and gigs, the ‘gosh factor’ trivia segment and a television guide. The KTOK Cinderella Christmas Pantomine is mentioned but is unfortunately edited out of the recording, as are most of the adverts for local businesses. News on the hour with John Breslin is similarly cut, but the DJ is heard reading the headlines at half-past the hour.
At 17 minutes, the recording switches to airchecks of the Dave James show from 8th February 1988 between 1000-1300. 99 FM is heavily promoted as the new transmitter for North Donegal, with 96 FM serving South Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo. There is no mention of the AM transmitter as it may have been discontinued at this time.
At 58 minutes, station founder Russ Padmore is heard from 18th February 1988 between 1500-1800. Local gigs and discos are promoted and news on the hour is read in English and Irish but edited out. The inclusion of Irish may have been as much due to impending broadcast legislation as the fact that many parts of Donegal are Irish-speaking. Music is mostly pop but includes some oldies and country, reflect the huge popularity of the latter in rural areas of Ireland.
It is unclear which FM frequency the recording was made from. It is from the Anoraks Irish Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
